The news was a relief to investors, who sent Polo shares up $5.43, or 4.5 percent, to $125.28. That’s despite a broad stock sell-off that was spurred by continued jitters about the global economy.

“We enter the fall and holiday selling seasons concerned about macroeconomic uncertainty and cost of goods inflation, but we are confident in the strength of our brands,” said Roger Farah, president of Polo Ralph Lauren.

Indeed, brisk demand for the company’s fashion designs — long inspired by classic American themes such as the Old West and the Golden Age of Hollywood — more than offset the cost of soaring cotton prices and rising wages at Asian factories.

As a result, Polo’s gross margin widened to an impressive 63 percent of total sales, up from 61.8 percent a year earlier.

The improvement marks a quick turnaround for Polo from just three months ago, when rising commodity costs and the devastating earthquake in Japan helped fuel a steeper-than-expected earnings decline, spurring the company’s worst single-day stock drop in two and a half years.

In another upbeat report, Macy’s said its second-quarter profit surged 64 percent in what Chief Executive Terry Lundgren called “our most successful second quarter and spring season in more than a decade.”

Touting a strategy to tailor products to local markets and cut exclusive merchandise deals with designers like Tommy Hilfiger, Macy’s raised its full-year guidance to $2.60 to $2.65 a share, up from $2.40 to $2.45.

Nevertheless, Macy’s will “closely monitor developments in the economy and financial markets,” Lundgren said. “We are cautious but optimistic about this fall and are staying focused on those factors we can control.”